From Backwater to Beacon: Kazakhstan’s Identity as a Middle Power
July 15th, 2024
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the shift in Kazakhstan’s identity on the global arena: On March 23, 2024, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Singapore, marking the first official state visit in over 20 years. Tokayev, who previously served as a diplomat in Singapore during the 1970s, also delivered the 46th Singapore Lecture on May 24th at the […]
Read more »Can Russia Help Cash-Strapped Pakistan?
July 15th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a look at how Russia and Pakistan expand cooperation: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s recent summit in Astana on July 3-4, 2024. On the sidelines of the summit which gathered the SCO’s leaders, Sharif met multiple world leaders including China’s President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]
Read more »India: World’s Next Food Superpower
July 13th, 2024
Via The Economist, a look at how farming in India should and could transition towards profits and productivity, away from poverty: For years the Araku Valley, deep in the mountains on India’s east coast, was mired in poverty and rocked by Maoist violence. The government classifies most of its inhabitants as “particularly vulnerable tribal groups”; for […]
Read more »From Russian Ladas to Chinese BYDs: Central Asia’s Changing Priorities
July 13th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, an article on Beijing’s efforts to steadily draw Central Asia into its orbit and away from Russia’s traditional sphere of influence: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Kazakhstan and participation in the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on July 2-4, 2024, marked a […]
Read more »Indonesia’s EV Drive Faces Geopolitical Headwinds
July 13th, 2024
Via Nikkei Asia, a look at how Jakarta is betting big on producing electric vehicles, but so are much larger powers: Indonesia is determined to capitalize on the green industries of tomorrow, but its path to success is being complicated by the reemergence of industrial policy and economic protectionism. The recent imposition of tariffs by the U.S. […]
Read more »Mixed Martial Arts’ PFL Set To Host First African Competition Next Year
July 13th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a report on the Professional Fighters League plans to host its first African competition next year: The Professional Fighters League will hold its first African competition next year, with Nigeria set to be a key venue in the latest expansion for the Mixed Martial Arts company that’s now valued at about $1 billion, […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.